Fungi are microscopic, spore-bearing organisms which lack chlorophyll and therefore derive nourishment from dead or living organic matter. Alexopoulos, C. J., et al., Introductory Mycology (1979), Chapter 1. Because they share characteristics of both plants and animals, they are classified separately in the Kingdom Myceteae. Within this Kingdom, there are the "filamentous fungi", so named because their vegetative bodies consists of small filaments referred to as "hyphae". Typically, the hyphae grow in a branching fashion, spreading over or within the substrate used as the source of nourishment, thereby forming a network of hyphae called "mycelium". In the life cycle of most filamentous fungi, the mycelium gives rise to either asexual or sexual reproductive bodies bearing spores. The spore is functionally comparable to the seed of higher plants, being important in the dispersal and survival of the fungus in nature. Under suitable environmental conditions, the spore germinates to form another generation of hyphae and so completing the life cycle of the fungus.
Filamentous fungi play an important role in numerous industrial processes. Such fungi are utilized in fermentation systems ("bioreactors") for the commercial production of organic acids, drugs (e.g., ergometrine and cortisone), and antibiotics (e.g., penicillin and griseofulvin). Alexopoulos, C. J., et al., Introductory Mycology (1979), p. 5. Fungi are also valued for their unique biological activities which enhance the growth and productivity of other, usually higher, plants. For example, some fungi (e.g., mycorrhizal fungi) inhabit the roots of higher plants, and render the plant more tolerant of heavy metals, pathogens, drought, temperature, pH and transplant shock. Schenck, N. C., Methods and Principles of Mychorrhizal Research (1982), p. ix. Still other filamentous fungi can suppress the activities of plant pathogens and, consequently, are being exploited in the control of plant diseases (biological control fungi). Cook, R. J., et al., The Nature and Practice of Biological Control of Plant Pathogens (1983), p. 539.
Perhaps filamentous fungi are best known for their edible, fleshy, spore-bearing, reproductive structures called "mushrooms". Mushrooms have been grown commercially for many years. Throughout these years, commercial production of cultivated mushrooms has increased dramatically. In 1939, worldwide production of Agaricus bisporus (also referred to as Agaricus brunnescens), the most popular of the edible cultivated mushrooms, was 46,000 tons. Flegg, P. B. and Wood, D. A., The Biology and Technology of the Cultivated Mushroom. Chapter 1, p. 7 (1985). By 1982, that figure was in excess of 850,000 tons. Id.
The common edible mushroom (e.g., A. bisporus) has both vegetative and reproductive ("fruiting") forms. The form most familiar to consumers is the fruiting form (i.e., mushroom) which has a stalk and an umbrella shaped cap. The life cycle of this mushroom fungus begins with the germination of a spore, which produces hyphae. A collection of hyphae compact together and form the mycelium. The mycelium then grow and invade the environment as networks. Small masses at the periphery of the network of mycelium enlarge and differentiate to form immature mushrooms called "buttons". The buttons rapidly enlarge and burst through the soil and become mature mushrooms. Mushrooms are produced from mycelium in cycles referred to as "breaks" or "flushes". A single population of mycelium may produce multiple breaks. The mushrooms then produce spores which germinate and produce further mycelium.
Methods of commercial mushroom cultivation are well known and generally involve inoculating compost rich in (See Carroll, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,962.) As used herein, the term "spawn" refers to a nutrient substrate colonized by mycelium. In the process referred to as "spawning," the spawn is mixed with compost to promote growth of the mycelium throughout the compost. The compost is usually comprised of straw bedded horse manure or other combination of fibrous plant material. Several weeks after spawn dissemination, when the compost has been sufficiently colonized by the fungus, the compost is covered with a thin layer of "topsoil" (e.g., peat, soil). This process is called "casing" and the layer of topsoil is sometimes referred to as "casing material". Within weeks of casing, mushrooms develop and are harvested in breaks. Precisely how the process of casing induces mushroom formation is unclear. However, there is supportive evidence for the role of bacteria, in particular Pseudomonas spp., in this phenomenon. Eger, G., Mushroom Science VIII (1972), pp. 719-725. In a variation of the standard casing procedure called "CACing" ("compost-at-casing"), compost colonized by mushroom fungus is mixed with the casing material and then applied to the colonized compost. This procedure is known to be particularly effective on Agaricus bisporus. The result is an earlier and more uniform development of mushrooms. MacCanna, C., et al., Mushroom Science VIII (1972), pp. 727-731.
Throughout the history of mushroom cultivation, a variety of substrates have been employed in the production of spawn. In one conventional method known as the "compost method", the spawn comprises compost from which fruiting bodies were previously grown and which contain the mycelium of another generation of mushrooms ("parental compost"). This parental compost-type spawn is used to inoculate a further quantity of uninoculated compost ("crop compost"). The parental compost may contain many other organisms which may flourish along with, or compete with, mycelium or mushrooms. As can be appreciated, spawn that is comprised of parental compost cannot be sterilized since sterilization will also destroy the valuable mycelium contained therein. Thus, methods have been devised where crop compost is treated with certain agents so as to promote growth of mycelium and mushrooms but inhibit growth of other interfering organisms which may be present in the parental compost. Such treatments of crop compost, however, do not solve the problem of pathogens which may be present in the parental compost and which may be transmitted from one generation of spawn to the next. In order to contain this problem, methods have been devised whereby the entire process is highly controlled and maintained under sterile conditions.
Currently, the grain substrate method is the most widely used for commercial mushroom cultivation. Although a few spawn producers use barley as grain substrate, rye grain and millet grain are predominantly used by most of the industry. In this method, the substrate provides a surface area onto which mycelium may adhere and grow as well as a nutrient source for the vegetative bodies. A quantity of grain is first sterilized and inoculated with cultivated mycelium. Only a small amount of grain supply need be inoculated because the mycelium grows and inoculates the surrounding grain substrate. Uniform substrate inoculation is promoted by shaking, or otherwise mixing, the inoculated substrate throughout the substrate supply. Once the mycelium has sufficiently colonized the substrate supply, the resulting spawn is disseminated in compost for the production of mushrooms. This method is advantageous over the compost method because sterility is more easily maintained.
The prior art methods discussed hereinabove suffer from the disadvantage that they allow little control over the nutrient composition, water content, osmolarity and pH of the spawn substrate. These factors, considered singularly or collectively, would impact directly on the growth, development and fruiting of filamentous fungi.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method for cultivating mushroom spawn under sterile conditions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for cultivating mushroom spawn with a uniform and reproducible nutrient source.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for cultivating mushroom spawn where the water content, osmolarity and pH of the substrate may be regulated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of cultivating mushroom spawn and introducing the same into compost for the production of mushrooms.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for cultivating a synthetic CACing agent and introducing the same into a casing layer for the production of mushrooms.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for cultivating mushroom spawn and mushrooms where the substrate for filamentous fungi includes substances which enhance the growth, development and fruiting of fungi.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate onto which filamentous fungi may adhere.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sterile synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi that is uniform in size and composition.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi including a nutrient source.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi in which the water content, osmolarity and pH may be regulated.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi including growth controlling agents which effect the growth, development and fruiting of fungi.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a synthetic substrate for filamentous fungi including biological agents such as bacteria, nematodes, fungi, viruses and protozoa for the cultivation of filamentous fungi or mushrooms.
It is another object to provide a method of making the synthetic substrate of the present invention.